[The Editors' Verdict] "Nom Nom Nom" for Carbon Neutrality

A vast chase across the Manchurian plains, a continuous series of twists and turns over a treasure map, and the famous line, "If you chase, you will be chased?life is a cycle of chasing and being chased"... The movie The Good, the Bad, the Weird ("Nom Nom Nom") weaves a seemingly predictable story into an extraordinary one through three characters: the Good (Jung Woo-sung), the Bad (Lee Byung-hun), and the Weird (Song Kang-ho). Directed by Kim Jee-woon in 2008, this film recorded the highest audience numbers for Korean cinema that year.

The energy landscape of the 2020s is expected to be a chase full of competition and reversals. The goal of this global energy chase is carbon neutrality. The Good is renewable energy. The Bad is fossil fuels that emit greenhouse gases. And the Weird is nuclear power, which does not emit greenhouse gases but remains a subject of caution. Reality is far more complex than the movie. In the film, the Good is only Jung Woo-sung, but in the energy arena, there are supporting actors whose goodness is yet to be determined, including wind power, solar power, biomass, and hydrogen. Coal is clearly treated as the Bad, but gas is sometimes seen as a Bad that can be overlooked for the time being. Nuclear power has both fans and detractors. Some fandoms argue it is essential for carbon neutrality, while others oppose nuclear power with strong conviction.

The more intense the treasure hunt for carbon neutrality becomes, the more cameos receive attention. A cameo refers to a famous person making a special appearance to enhance a movie. Sometimes, the director who orchestrates the film also appears as a cameo. In the energy arena, the cameos are batteries and small modular reactors (SMRs). Batteries are known for small-scale energy storage, and SMRs are famous for powering submarines and ships. These cameos?batteries and SMRs?could change the energy landscape. Batteries can cover the critical weakness of renewables: intermittency, and SMRs can address safety concerns raised by detractors. There is also a newcomer called carbon capture. Depending on its performance, even the Bad might shed its villainous image.

The 21st-century energy landscape is fierce. Even among the Good, it is uncertain which will survive. Considering the driving forces behind human development over the past 200 years, it is not easy for the Bad to disappear. Especially gas sometimes disguises itself as the Good. In movies, villains neither die easily nor die early. In Nom Nom Nom, the Bad dies only at the end, while the Good and the Weird survive. The treasure they found was an oil field. In the energy arena, the treasure will be the technology to bury oil fields.

In the movie, the Weird runs away with the Bad’s jewel, and the Good chases the Weird, ending the story. In the energy arena, if the Bad disappears, even if they chase each other, they will first share the jewel. This is because there is no perfect energy yet. Looking at Korea’s energy landscape, nighttime electricity demand averages about 50% of total installed capacity. If renewables are 100% solar power, nuclear power must cover at least 50%. However, for renewables to take the lead, batteries must cover intermittency. This is still difficult. But we cannot rely on gas while pursuing carbon neutrality. Therefore, nuclear power must go together. Moreover, the Weird has a cameo in the form of SMRs.

The 2020s energy landscape has started the roadshow toward carbon neutrality. It is fascinating to see who will win and who will survive. The outcome depends not on how the "Nom Nom Nom" develop their strengths, but on how they resolve their weaknesses.

Jung Dong-wook, Professor, Department of Energy Systems Engineering, Chung-Ang University

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.